James Erskine, Lord Barjarg and Alva (20 June 1722 – 13 May 1796) was an 18th-century Scottish lawyer who rose to be a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

. For convenience his name was usually contracted to James Erskine, Lord Alva.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the son of

Charles Erskine, Lord Tinwald Charles Erskine also spelled Areskine (1680 – 5 April 1763), of Tinwald and Barjarg, Dumfries, and Alva, Clackmannan was Lord Advocate, a Scottish judge, and a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1742. Life Erskine ...

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...

of Scotland, and his wife, Grisel Grierson. He became an advocate in 1743 and made Sheriff-Depute of Perthshire in 1748. In 1754 he became a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

and in 1758

Knight Marshal The Knight Marshal is a former office in the British Royal Household established by Henry III in 1236. The position later became a Deputy to the Earl Marshal from the reign of Henry VIII until the office was abolished in 1846. The Knight Marsha ...

of Scotland. In 1761 he replaced

Patrick Boyle, Lord Shewalton Patrick Boyle, Lord Shewalton (1690–1761) was a Scottish judge who served as a Senator of the College of Justice. Life He was born in 1690 the second son of David Boyle, 1st Earl of Glasgow and his wife Margaret Lindsay Crawford sister of ...

as a

. On the death of his father in 1763 he inherited both his Edinburgh property, Drumsheugh House, and Alva House in

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...

. In 1772, he changed his title to Lord Alva when he inherited the estate of the Erskines of

Alva, Clackmannanshire Alva (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ailbheach'', meaning rocky) is a small town in Clackmannanshire, set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is one of a number of towns situated immediately to the south of the Ochil Hills, collectively referred to as t ...

. He lived at Drumsheugh House in western Edinburgh. In 1758, he was appointed

Knight Marischal The office of Knight Marischal was first created for the Scottish coronation of Charles I in 1633, at Scone. Unlike the separate office of Marischal, the office of Knight Marischal is not heritable, and has continued to be filled up to the death ...

. He died on 13 May 1796 at Drumsheugh House in western Edinburgh and was buried in St Cuthberts Churchyard. The grave lies on the first dividing wall north of the church, just west of the large monument to

Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland (11 May 1736 – 16 March 1795) was a Scottish judge and politician. Life Born at Murrayfield House west of Edinburgh's Old Town on 11 May 1736, he was the son of Archibald Murray of Cringletie, an advocate ...

. His place as Senator was filled by Robert Cullen, Lord Cullen. Drumsheugh House was demolished around 1860 to build the link road between the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate, also known as the Moray Feu, is an early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of the New Town, Edinburgh. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban plannin ...

and the Haymarket area, now called Drumsheugh Gardens.

Family

He was married to Jean Stirling (1719–1797), daughter of John Stirling of Herbertshire.Grave of James Erskine, St Cuthbert's Churchyard, Edinburgh Their daughter, Isabella Erskine (d.1827), married Lt Col Patrick Tytler, son of Lord Alva's legal colleague, William Tytler and grandson of

Alexander Fraser Tytler Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee FRSE (15 October 17475 January 1813) was a Scottish advocate, judge, writer, and historian who was a Professor of Universal History and of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh. L ...

. His older brother was Charles Erskine (1716–1749) but as Charles died before the father he inherited neither title nor land.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, James 1722 births 1796 deaths 18th-century Scottish judges Senators of the College of Justice Lawyers from Edinburgh

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...